This hour, we learn more about asthma trends in our state and we examine measures our health providers are putting in place to curb the effects of the disease. And later, we check in on how well Connecticut is doing to prevent lead poisoning among children.

Connecticut had the highest total number of foodborne illness outbreaks in New England from 2005 to 2014, according to federal data -- a distinction that experts say is fueled by better reporting, while higher rates of certain pathogens also may contribute.

Connecticut still ranks high among states in the use of antipsychotic drugs for elderly nursing home residents, but its rate of use has dropped 33 percent since 2011 -- a bigger decline than the national average -- new government data show.

Connecticut public health and law enforcement departments this week are testing how the state responds to situations such as an infectious disease outbreak that require extensive coordination between local, state and federal agencies. Run by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the exercise includes the Centers for Disease Control, hospitals and volunteers.

Connecticut’s diabetes rate ranks lower than the national average, but Hispanics and African-Americans are more than twice as likely to have the disease compared with their white neighbors, and are at greater risk of dying from diabetes-related causes.

The world is facing the largest and most widespread Ebola outbreak in history. On August 8, 2014, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was declared by the World Health Organization to be a "public health emergency of international concern" because it was determined to be an "extraordinary event" with public health risks to countries around the globe.

A task force created after the Newtown school shooting is recommending state lawmakers take steps toward improvement of mental health services to children and young adults. The 20-member panel, charged with examining mental health services for people between the ages of 16 and 25 released 47 recommendations on Tuesday for the General Assembly to consider when it reconvenes in January.

Governor Dannel Malloy, along with Early Childhood Commissioner, Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, and local officials, have announced the allocation of about 1,000 additional School Readiness opportunities for low-income children in 46 municipalities throughout the state.

Governor Dannel Malloy nominated Eliot Prescott of West Hartford and Raheem Mullins of Cromwell to serve as judges of the Connecticut Appellate Court. Malloy also nominated 16 attorneys to become judges of the Superior Court, two to serve as Family Support Magistrates, and one to serve as a Workers’ Compensation.

On its website, the Tumble Bugs Day School in Norwalk boasts a “highly experienced, nurturing” staff who serve infants and toddlers in a “stimulating setting.”

But a review of state Department of Public Health records shows the child care center has had numerous complaints and citations in recent years for lapses in supervision that have injured and traumatized young children.

St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is cutting funding to a Hartford program that targets infant mortality. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, the hospital says the recently passed state budget is to blame. The Maternal Infant Outreach Program is almost 30 years old and is jointly funded by two hospitals and the city of Hartford.

Researchers have released their final results in a huge, decade-long cancer study involving Pratt & Whitney workers.

Concern over the health and safety of workers at Pratt & Whitney began in the early 2000s. Several workers, all employees at the North Haven plant, were found to have died from a rare form of brain cancer.

Researchers were brought in to first, find out how many cases of cancer there were among workers; then compare that with rates among the general population.